Aquatic vehicle

ABSTRACT

AN AMUSEMENT AND EXERCISING DEVICE INCLUDING A BODY BUOYANT IN WATER AND SO SHAPED AS TO PROPEL ITSELF FORWARDLY UPON ROCKING THE BODY TO AND FRO IN THE WATER. THE BODY IS PREFERABLY IN THE SHAPE OF AN IRREGULAR TETRAHEDRON HAVING A NARROW VERTICAL EDGE PROVIDING A BOW AND A HORIZONTAL NARROW EDGE AT THE OPPOSITE END PROVIDING A STERN AND WITH SCULLING DEVICES CONSISTING OF FLAT BOARD-LIKE MEMBERS PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO THE BODY FOR LIMITED ARCUATE MOVEMENT. DIRECTIONAL CONTROL MAY BE EFFECTED BY A RUDDER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE BODY AND/OR PIVOTING ONE OF THE SCULLING DEVICES AND ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS. TOE GRIPS ARE PROVIDED ON THE UPPER SURFACE UPON WHICH AN OCCUPANT MAY EITHER SIT OR STAND DEPENDING UPON SKILL IN MANIPULATING THE DEVICE.

Sept. 21, 1971 D, W KQ 3,606,859

I AQUATIC VEHICLE Filed June 27, 1969 I 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M. D. SKITSKO AQUATIC VEHICLE Sept. 21, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 27, 1969 United States ()flice Patented Sept. 21, 1971 3,606,859 AQUATIC VEHICLE Michael D. Skitsko, 9650 79th St., Edmonton 82, Alberta, Canada Filed June 27, 1969, Ser. No. 837,011

Claims priority, application Canada, July 10, 1968,

24,755; Sept. 23, 1968, 30,661

Int. Cl. B63h 1/30 US. Cl. 115-29 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An amusement and exercising device including a body buoyant in water and so shaped as to propel ltself forwardly upon rocking the body to and fro 1n the water. The body is preferably in the shape of an irregular tetrahedron having a narrow vertical edge providing a bow and a 11011- zontal narrow edge at the opposite end providing a stern and with sculling devices consisting of flat board-like members pivotally attached to the body for limited arcuate movement. Directional control may be effected by a rudder pivotally mounted on the body and/or pivot ng one of the sculling devices about a vertical axis. Toe grips are provided on the upper surface upon which an occupant may either sit or stand depending upon skill in manipulating the device.

This invention relates to a body buoyant in a fluid such as water and of such shape that it is propelled in a horizontal direction in response to vertical movement of the body in the fluid. The invention further relates to such improved device and sculling devices attached thereto.

It is known that a buoyant body may be so shaped as to cause it to move horizontally in response to vertical movement as exemplified by US. Pat. No. 3,102,280 issued to F. F. Williams, Sept. 3, 1963. The patented structure is, however, of complicated shape, making it expensive to construct. The patented structure also is such that it is not stable and particularly so in a forward direction rendering it susceptible to tipping.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a body having propulsion characteristics because of its shape wherein the shape is relatively simple and thereby providing a device which may be readily constructed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a buoyant body having propulsion characteristics because of its shape and wherein the shape is such that the body is relatively stable in water, thus providing a device safe to use for amusement purposes.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved amusement device having propulsion means which includes, in combination, a body of particular shape and sculling devices attached thereto. Buoyant amusement devices with sculling attachments are known as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,850 issued June 21, 1966 and also a water craft having sculling devices pivotally attached thereto is known as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,804 issued Aug. 29, 1950. The present invention is concerned with improvements to such devices.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a buoyant body with sculling devices mounted such that they may be utilized not only to propel the body in response to motion of the body in the water but also be used for controlling directional movement of the same and changes in such direction.

As noted above, the buoyant body is propelled through the water by the occupant thereon rocking it to and fro. During the rocking action, when the bow moves upwardly a bottom face tends to cause a vacuum. Accordingly, a further principal object of the present invention is to incorporate in the body a breather tube for releasing the vacuum.

A still further principal object of the present invention is to incorporate improvements in a buoyant body facilitating an occupant using the same without contacting the fluid in which the body is floating.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a buoyant body having propulsion characteristics because of its shape and including a rudder assembly on the bow for use in either steering, or alternatively propelling the body in the fluid.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aquatic device comprising a body buoyant in water and having the shape of an irregular tetrahedron wherein each of the four sides are substantially the shape of an isosceles triangle.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an amusement device comprising a buoyant body in the shape of an irregular tetrahedron having four sides, each substantially an isosceles triangle, whereinthe horizontal edge at one end provides a stern and the vertical narrow edge at the other end provides a bow for the vehicle, a sculling device pivotally attached to the stern for limited arcuate movement about an axis parallel to the edge thereof and a sculling device attached to the bow and pivotally mounted for limited arcuate movement about a horizontal axis and further independent pivotal movement about a vertical axis.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aquatic device comprising a body buoyant in water and so shaped as to provide forward propulsion characteristics of such body upon vertical movement of the same in the fluid, said body having a generally horizontal bottom portion and a breathing tube providing communication with the atmosphere from said bottom portion when the body is floating in water, said breathing tube including a one-way valve preventing the flow of water upwardly through said tube.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aquatic device comprising a body buoyant in water and having the shape of an irregular tetrahedron with an upper horizontal wall upon which the occupant stands to rock the body when floating in water, said occupant-supporting surface having at least one toe grip for the occupant adjacent the stern end of the device.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an amusement device comprising a buoyant body in the shape of an irregular tetrahedron having four sides, each substantially an isosceles triangle wherein the horizontal edge at one end provides a stern and the vertical narrow edge at the other end provides a bow for the vehicle, said device including a vertically disposed rudder pivotally attached to said body at the bow for movement about an axis generally parallel to said vertical narrow edge.

The invention is illustrated, by Way of example, in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an aquatic device;

FIG. 2 is a partial section taken substantially along section 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the left side rear portion encircled in FIG. 1;'

FIG. 4 is a View similar to FIG. 1, illustrating a modified aquatic device;

FIG. 5 is a section taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a porone-way valve in the breathing tube; and

FIG. 7 is an oblique view of a buoyant body having a modified shape.

Shown in FIG. 1 is a water buoyant vehicle 10 consisting of a buoyant body having a pair of sculling devices and pivotally attached thereto at opposite ends thereof. The buoyant body 20 is an irregular tetrahedron having four side walls 21, each of which is an isosceles triangle having a base approximately one-half the height. The body 20 has a narrow longitudinal marginal edge 22 at one end thereof and a similar longitudinal edge 23 at the opposite end. The narrow edges 22 and 23 are perpendicular to one another and as viewed in FIG. 1, the longitudinal edge 22 is horizontally disposed while the narrow edge 23 at the other end is vertically disposed. The buoyant body 20 may be constructed with any suitable material and may be either hollow or solid. The walls 21, for example, may be of sheet material such as metal, plastic, wood or the like and sealingly connected at adjacent marginal edges to provide a sealed enclosed chamber. Alternatively, the body may be solid consisting of, for example, expanded plastic such as polystyrene or the like.

The sculling devices 30 and 40 are shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 each pivotally attached to the body 20 by a pair of mounting brackets 50. Sculling device 30 consists of a substantially flat plate member having a pair of pins 31 projecting outwardly therefrom adjacent the longitudinal marginal edge corresponding substantially in length to the edge 22 of body 20. The pins 31 project through aligned apertures in the pair of brackets 50 secured to the body 20 adjacent the edge 22 and are secured in position by a C-clip 32 fitting into a groove in respective ones of the pins 31.

The brackets 50 may be secured to the buoyant body 20 by a plurality of bolts, screws or the like 51. The two brackets 50 adjacent the edge 22 of the body have a pair of pins 52 and 53 secured thereto and project inwardly in a direction toward one another on the respective brackets. The pins 52 and 53 are disposed in spaced relation with respect to one another and engages respectively, the upper and lower surfaces of the plate 30 to limit pivotal movement of the same about the pins 31. Pin members 52 and 53 effectively provide, respectively, an upper stop and lower stop and are positioned to limit pivotal movement of the sculling device 30, preferably to an arc of 60 or less.

The sculling device 40 is attached to the opposite end of the body 20 by a rod 41 which passes through aligned apertures in the pair of brackets 50 adjacent the marginal edge 23. The shaft 41 is pivotally connected to the sculling device 40 by a pin 42 passing through a pair of lugs 43 secured to the sculling device 40. The pin 42 passes through aligned apertures in the lugs 43 and an aperture in the rod 41. The sculling device 40 is a flat planar member and pin 42 allows pivotal movement of the same about a horizontal axis. The lugs 43 are so located on the plate 40 that the axis of pivotal movement about pin 42 is located offset forwardly from the centre line of the plate. The offset forwardly position places the major surface area of the plate 40 behind the pivot axis and the minor area ahead of the pivot axis. Pivotal movement of the plate 40 about pin 42 is preferably limited to an arc of 60 or less and to accomplish this, a pair of pins 47 and 48 are inserted through respective ones of aligned aper tures in the pair of lugs 43. Pins 47 and 48 are located, respectively, one on each of opposite sides of shaft 41. The arcuate movement may be varied readily, for example by providing a series of holes in spaced relation with respect to one another in each of the lugs 43 for receiving the respective pins 47 and 48. The shaft 41 is pivotally mounted in the pair of brackets 50 and in order to prevent the shaft 41 from sliding longitudinally through the apertures in the brackets, a pair of pins and 46 are inserted through the shaft adjacent respective ones of the brackets. The pins are located between the pair of brackets and are 4 engageable with respective ones thereof. The shaft 41 terminates at the upper end in a pair of rearwardly directed arms 44 which may be grasped by the occupant for the purpose of pivoting the shaft 41 to control directional movement of the device.

In operation, the vehicle 10 is placed in a body of water and an occupant sits, kneels or stands on the uppermost Wall 21 holding on, if desired to the arms 44. The buoyancy of the body 20 is such as to support, in a fluid such as water, the occupant who manoeuvres and propels the vehicle by rocking the body 20 to and fro and/ or bouncing it up and down. To and fro rocking motion of the body and/ or up and down movement in water causes the sculling devices 30 and 40 to pivot about their respective axes, and the reactionary forces of the water on the sculling devices 30 and 40 and on the body 20 causes the device to move forwardly. The propelling forces are in a common horizontal direction for both the up and down movement. As viewed in FIG. 1, the vehicle travels in a direction to the left. Movement in this direction results from the water reactionary forces on the body 20 and the sculling devices 30 and 40. The shape of the body 20 and the pivotal movement of the sculling devices may be chosen such as to provide maximum horizontal propelling forces. With regard to the propelling forces, movement of the trailing edge 22 of the body upwardly results in water reactionary forces on the uppermost panel 21 and the sculling device 30 to cause the vehicle to move to the left as viewed in FIG. 1. Downward movement of the trailing edge 22 similarly results in water reactionary forces on the lowermost wall 21 of the body 20 and the bottom surface of the sculling device 30 to similarly propel the vehicle to the left. On the sculling device at the leading end, upward movement of the vertical edge 23 causes water reactionary forces on the upper surface of the sculling device 40 to propel the vehicle to the left and downward movement results in water reactionary forces on the bottom surface similarly to propel the vehicle to the left. The remaining and opposite side walls 21 are substantially vertical and accordingly, horizontal motion is generally unaffected except for causing some resistance to the forward movement of the body in the water. Directional movement of the body in travel may be controlled by the occupant pivoting shaft 41. Movement of the shaft clockwise and counterclockwise steers the vehicle respectively to the left and to the right in water as a result of water reactionary forces on the sculling device 40.

In an alternative embodiment, the sculling devices 30 and 40 may be detached and the body 20 used by itself. The shape of the body, as previously mentioned, causes the same to move in one direction as a result of rocking it to and fro and/ or moving it up and down in the water. The shape of the body may be varied somewhat from that illustrated in FIG. 1. As previously described and illustrated in FIG. 1, the walls 21 are isosceles triangles and are relatively flat. All of the walls alternatively may be either convex or concave, or if desired, some walls may be fiat while others are convex and while still others are concave. The shape of the walls may be varied and the shape used in the combinations which result in maximum driving force for propelling the vehicle horizontally.

In FIG. 7, there is illustrated a modified buoyant body 20A having a bow 23A and stern 22A. The body has an upper flat planar wall 21A preferably disposed at right angles to the bow and a pair of opposed flat planar side walls 21B and 21C. The side walls, bow and stern are intersected by a bottom wall 21D which is convex outwardly with respect to the body. The curvature of the wall 21D may be an arc of a circle and has the lowermost point adjacent the bow 23A. If the length of the vehicle, as illustrated in FIG. 7, is four times the depth of the bow, the radius of curvature having its center on an imaginary extension of the bow 23A would be approximately 8.5 times the length of the vehicle.

In the foregoing description, reference is made to the forward and trailing end of the vehicle. As viewed in FIG. 1, these are represented respectively by the narrow edges 23 and 22. When using the buoyant body 20 by itself, that is, without the sculling devices 30 and 40 attached, it will be apparent the forward end and trailing end with regards to direction of travel may be changed by rotating the body 90. Accordingly, to travel in one direction, the occupant may sit on one of the walls 21 and to travel in the opposite direction, the occupant can then rotate the body through 90 sitting on a wall 21 adjacent to the one which was previously sat on. By rotating the body 90, the edge 22 will be disposed vertically and become the leading edge while the opposite edge 23 will be horizontal and become the trailing edge.

In a further modification, edges 22 and 23 may be different length. The vertical edge is, in effect, the bow while the horizontal edge is the stern. Stability may be varied by making one edge shorter than the other, for example, stability will be somewhat increased by making the bow shorter than the stern.

Various further modifications are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7 inclusive. Referring to FIG. 4 there is illustrated a buoyant body 20 having the same shape as that illustrated in FIG. 1, having four side walls 21 each of which is approximately an isosceles triangle. The walls 21 are flat planar Walls and attached to the upper wall is a pair of toe grips 60 and 61. Only one toe grip need be used if desired in which case it is located adjacent the stren of the body. The toe grips 60 and 61 may be of any common type used on water skis, surfboards, and the like and are preferably located on the line of symmetry of the upper wall. By using the toe grips, an occupant can readily stand on the upper wall 21 with his feet in spaced relation and by appropriate movement readily rock the body 20 to and fro for propelling the same as previously discussed.

In order to control the direction of travel while the body is being propelled, there is provided a rudder 70 pivotally attached to the bow 23. The rudder 70 may be a flexible rubber member as, for example, the fins attached to the feet of swimmers or, alternatively, may be rigid and if desired can be held in any one of numerous positions by the hand of an occupant on the device or alternatively a clip (not shown) may be used. The rudder 70 acts as a sculling device when the edge 23 is placed horizontal in the water and accordingly may be substituted for the sculling device 30 on the body illustrated in FIG. 1.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the buoyant body 20 consists of expanded polystyrene and the rudder 70 is integrally formed with the body and hingedly connected thereto by a strip 23A which is denser than the remainder of the body. Plastic bodies having integrally formed hinges are known in the art.

As previously pointed out, the vehicle is propelled by rocking it to and fro in the water. Movement in a reverse direction may be caused by rocking the body sideways in which case the reactionary forces on the opposed side faces cause the body to move as, for example, to the right as viewed in FIG. 4.

In FIGS. 4 to 7 inclusive, there is illustrated a further modification which consists of a breathing tube to release vacuum under the body when it is rocked in the water. Shown in FIG. 4 is a breathing tube 80 which extends through the body 20 from the upper wall 21 to the lower wall 21 adjacent the how 23. The breather tube 28 is preferably sloped slightly as illustrated in FIG. 4, with the bottom end at a greater distance from the bow than the upper end. This, however, is not essential. The breather tube 80 has an inlet 81 which extends through the upper wall 21 and an outlet 82 in the bottom wall. The outlet 82 is preferably located slightly vertically above the lowest point of the body when it is floating in water. A oneway valve 83 is located in the breather tube and, as illustrated in FIGS. 4, and 7, may consist of a flap valve pivotally attached to the conduit. The one-way valve 83 is arranged such as to permit air to flow through the breather tube from the inlet 81 to the outlet 82 and not allow either air or water to flow in the opposite direction. A modified valve is illustrated in FIG. 6 and consists of a ball 84 held captive in an enlargement 85 in the breather tube. The outlet 82 may be covered by a grill or screen 86 which holds the ball captive. The enlarged portion 85 of the breather conduit is illustrated in FIG. 6 at the bottom wall of the buoyant body. It may, however, be located at other positions, if desired, somewhere between the respective bottom and top walls 21 of the buoyant body 20.

In FIG. 5 there is illustrated a deflector 90 attached to the lowermost wall of the buoyant body adjacent the b W 23. The deflector 90 is a plate-like member extending at least partially over the outlet 82 of the breather tube. If desired, the deflector 90 and check valve 83 may be combined in which case the deflector would be pivotally attached to the buoyant body at a position between the bow and the breather tube outlet 82.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that the various alternatives and modifications may be used separately or in various combinations and sub-combinations. For example, an aquatic vehicle may be provided having a buoyant body in the shape of that illustrated in FIG. 7

and having a rudder 70 attached to the bow, as illustrated in FIG. 4, and a sculling device 30 attached to the opposite end as illustrated in FIG. 1. Such vehicle may also include a breather tube 80 having a one-way flow control valve and also a toe grip may be secured to the upper wall, if desired.

I claim:

1. An aquatic device comprising a body buoyant in water and having the shape of an irregular tetrahedron consisting of four sides each of which is substantially the shape of an isosceles triangle, said body having a relatively narrow edge at each of a pair of opposite ends.

2. An aquatic device as defined in claim 1 including a flat planar member pivotally attached to said body adjacent one of said narrow edges.

3. An aquatic device as defined in claim 2 including a sculling device pivotally attached to the body adjacent its end having the other narrow edge.

4. An aquatic device as defined in claim 3 wherein pivotal movement of each of said pivotally mounted members is limited to an arc of less than 60.

5. An amusement device comprising a buoyant body in the shape of an irregular tetrahedron having four sides each of which is substantially an isosceles triangle, two of said sides intersecting at one end of said body in a horizontal relatively narrow edge providing a stern and the other two of said sidesintersecting at the opposite end of the body in a vertically disposed relatively narrow edge providing a bow for said device, a sculling device pivotally attached to the body adjacent the stern for limited arcuate movement about an axis parallel to the edge thereof and a sculling device attached to the body adjacent the bow, first means pivotally mounting said sculling device for limited arcuate movement about a horizontal axis and second means pivotally mounting said sculling device and first pivot means on said body for movement about a vertical axis.

6. An aquatic amusement device as defined in claim 5 wherein the sculling device at the bow is located vertically below the body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,520,804 8/1950 Hollar -4 3,204,951 9/1965 Grain 272 -1 3,232,608 2/1966 Vlacancich 115-28X 3,256,850 6/1966 Bramson 416-82 ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner 

